England: Recipes and Cuisine

Old Crown, Wheatley village, Oxfordshire, England
Image by wheatfields

The butt of endless jokes over the centuries, English cuisine has a reputation of overcooked vegetables, endlessly boiled meats, stodgy puddings and of generally beating the life out of a dish. Not fair! British cooking has enjoyed a renaissance in the last decade or so, with many world-class chefs reclaiming traditional dishes and leading a return to an artisan-based food culture.

Typical English Dishes

A list of typical English dishes and foods. Use it to help you plan a English-style meal, party or festival.

Appetizers

  • Angels on Horseback (Bacon-wrapped oysters)
  • Cucumber Sandwiches (Tea sandwiches)
  • Devils on Horseback (Bacon-wrapped prunes)
  • Kipper Paste (Fish spread)
  • Potted Shrimp (Spiced shrimp spread)
  • Wensleydale Tarts (Cheese tarts)

Soups and Stews

  • London Particular Soup (Split pea and ham soup)
  • Mulligatawny Soup (Curried chicken soup)

Salads

  • Coronation Chicken (Curried chicken salad)
  • Salmagundi (Cold poultry and vegetable salad)

Eggs and Dairy

  • Cheeses: Cheddar, Cheshire, Stilton
  • Clotted Cream
  • Scrambled Eggs

Poultry

  • Country Captain (Chicken and apple curry)
  • Hindle Wakes (Chicken with stewed prunes and lemon sauce)
  • Lindisfarne Chicken (Chicken baked with mead)
  • Roast Goose with Apples and Prunes
  • Roast Turkey with Gravy (Holiday turkey)
  • Tikka Masala (Chicken in tomato curry sauce)

Meats

  • Bangers and Mash (Sausages with mashed potatoes)
  • Beef Wellington (Beef tenderloin and mushrooms baked in puff pastry)
  • Boiled Beef and Carrots (Cockney dinner)
  • Black Pudding (Blood sausage)
  • Cornish Pasties (Beef and vegetables baked in pastry crust)
  • Lancashire Hot Pot (Lamb meat and kidneys baked with potatoes and mushrooms)
  • Jugged Hare (Hare or rabbit stew)
  • Liverpool Lobscouse (Sailor’s beef stewed with potatoes and carrots)
  • Pork Pie (Pork baked in a pastry crust)
  • Roast Leg of Lamb with Mint Sauce
  • Roast Prime Rib (Roast rib of beef)
  • Shepherd’s Pie (Ground lamb casserole with mashed potato topping)
  • Steak and Kidney Pie (Beef and kidneys backed in a pastry crust)
  • Toad-in-the-Hole (Sausages baked in batter)

Fish and Seafood

  • Fish and Chips (Batter-fried fish with fried potato wedges)
  • Dover Sole
  • Soused Mackerel (Pickled fish)
  • Jellied Eels (Eels in aspic)
  • Stargazey Pie (Fish baked in pastry crust)

Vegetables and Beans

  • Brussels Sprouts au Gratin (Brussels sprouts baked with cheddar cheese)
  • Bubble and Squeak (Fried potatoes and cabbage)
  • Cauliflower cheese (Cauliflower with a Cheddar cheese sauce)
  • Creamed Parsnips
  • Mash of Nine Sorts (Puree of various vegetables)
  • Pan Haggerty (Cheesy potatoes)
  • Pease Pudding (Thick split peas)
  • Suffolk Red Cabbage (Sweet and sour braised red cabbage)

Breads and Grains

  • Bath Buns (Sweet buns)
  • Cottage Loaf (Glazed white bread)
  • Crumpets (Pan-fried tea breads)
  • Fat Rascals (Yorkshire tea biscuit)
  • Granny Loaf (Fruitbread)
  • Kentish Huffkins (Dinner or tea buns)
  • Parkin (Molasses oatcakes)
  • Sage and Onion Stuffing
  • Stotty Cake (Hearth bread)
  • Yorkshire Pudding (English savory puff pudding)

Sauces

  • Bread Sauce
  • Cumberland Sauce (Redcurrant and citrus sauce for game)
  • Mint Sauce (Sauce for roast lamb)
  • Mustard Sauce
  • Parsley Sauce
  • Strawberry Jam
  • Worcestershire Sauce (Tamarind-anchovy seasoning sauce)

Pickles and Preserves

  • Apple Chutney
  • Bramble Jam
  • Damson Cheese (Plum preserves)
  • Lemon Curd
  • Orange Marmelade
  • Piccalilli (Vegetable pickle)
  • Pickled Beets
  • Pickled Cabbage
  • Quince Jelly
  • Mincemeat (Dried fruit pie filling)

Desserts and Teacakes

  • Bakewell Tarts (Small jam-filled cakes)
  • Brandy Snaps (Crisp cookie)
  • Eccles Cakes (Fruit-filled pastries)
  • Fig Pie
  • Fool (Fruit puree mixed with whipped cream)
  • Jam and Custard Tarts
  • Lardy Cakes (Lard pastry stuffed with dried fruits)
  • Maids of Honor (Tea tarts with an almond custard)
  • Sally Lunn Cake (Spongecake)
  • Scones (Shortbread teacakes)
  • Spotted Dog (Steamed pudding with raisins)
  • Summer Pudding (Pudding of berries and bread)
  • Strawberries and Cream
  • Trifle (Layered cake and custard)
  • Victoria Sandwich (Jam-filled teacakes)
  • Wet Nelly (Bread pudding)

Beverages

  • Ale (Beer flavored with malt and hops)
  • Cider
  • Gin and Tonic
  • Mead (Honey wine)
  • Mulled Wine (Warm spiced wine)
  • Port
  • Sherry
  • Tea
  • Wassail Bowl (Christmas spiced ale and sherry)

Breakfast

  • Bacon (Smoked, cured pork belly)
  • Frumenty (Wheatberry porridge)
  • Scrambled Eggs

English Recipes

Try these recipes from England.

Angels on Horseback 
(English bacon-wrapped oysters appetizer)

Gingerbread Men 
(English spiced Christmas cookies)

Suffolk Red Cabbage 
(English braised red cabbage)

Shepherd’s Pie 
(English-Irish meat pie with mashed potato topping)

Summer Pudding 
(English berry and bread dessert)

Scotch Eggs 
(Scottish hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage)

Brussels Sprouts Gratin 
(English roasted Brussels sprouts with cheese sauce)

Yorkshire Pudding 
(English savory puff pudding)

Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy 
(American holiday turkey)

Mulled Wine 
(English spiced wine)

Scones 
(Scottish quick teacakes)

Fish and Chips 
(English batter-fried fish with fried potato wedges)

Bubble and Squeak 
(English fried potatoes and cabbage)

Cornish Pasties 
(British beef and vegetable pies)

Roast Prime Rib 
(English roast rib of beef)

Murgh Tikka Masala 
(British-Indian chicken masala curry)

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